Anisa Salazar
Sports Editor
“Samella! Black as Lacquer and Iron” exhibition is currently on display at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art.
Alongside Samella Sanders Lewis’ early drawings and prints, this exhibition highlights the interrelationships between Asian, African, and Indigenous art from Alison Saar, Howard Smith, Richard Petterson, Louis Stern, Claude Lewis, Harmon Outlaw, Alile Sharon Larkin and Alita Aldridge.
Museum manager Kikesa Kimbwala DeRobles said that seeing the documentation of these young creatives’ practices from the ‘60s in Los Angeles progressing individually, but also as a community, and united by figures like Lewis, has helped her understand these artists’ experiences.
“As an artist who is young and working in California today, you always feel like you’re isolated into a single creative vocal,” DeRobles said.
“You forget how important it is to build community and have people who are interested in your work but also the different conversations surrounding your work.”
Lewis is the first woman of African American descent to receive a PhD in the history of art. She became the first tenured African American professor at Scripps College while teaching art history.
Her Scripps student, Francine Farr, curated this exhibit as an acknowledgement of Lewis’ legacy and to highlight her influence as an art historian, educator, philanthropist and artist.
The exhibition has three gallery rooms, all with different mediums of art. Everything from tapestries and ceramics to photography and pencil drawings.
Going into the setup of the exhibit, museum associate Doug Pearsall expected to see Lewis’ powerful prints of linoleum cut, but as he spent more time with the art, one of his favorite pieces became “Untitled (Back of a Woman),” drawn with charcoal on paper.
Lewis’ hand drawings also caught the attention of visitor Jason Back. In the second gallery room, multiple of these graphite pieces are on display.
“I was really struck by the beautiful graphite pieces from Samella Lewis,” Back said. “I feel like there’s a timelessness to them, some of them were as far back as the ‘40s, but I feel like the themes and the way she draws faces all felt very modern.”
Lewis was an activist, she used her voice and art to showcase the fight and struggle for equality within Black, Asian and Indigenous communities, which can be seen throughout the exhibit.
“You’re going to come here and see some beautiful stuff because her art is very pretty, but you’re going to see some stuff that’s intense as well,” Pearsall said.
With a variety of art throughout the exhibit, visitor Alissa Heinrich also found pieces of art interesting that she isn’t usually drawn to.
“I like big pieces of art, the bigger the better, but honestly the photography really surprised me because I’m not usually super drawn to it, but getting to see the different styles was really cool,” Heinrich said.
At 2 p.m. on Sep. 8, the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art is hosting “Samella Lewis: The Legacy of a Trailblazer.” There will be a lecture, gallery visit and tea, where visitors can learn more about the life and influence of Lewis.
The exhibit is open to visit Thursday through Sunday until Nov. 15 at the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art. For more information, visit clmoa.org/exhibit/samella.
Anisa Salazar can be reached at anisa.salazar@laverne.edu.
Anisa Salazar is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is sports editor, social media editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. She previously served as a staff writer.
